


Wishes

by Severina



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Community: tv-universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 13:11:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5165024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Severina/pseuds/Severina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle encounters some trouble after a visit to Rumplestiltskin's turret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wishes

**Author's Note:**

> Dark Castle. Written for LJ's tv_universe community.
> 
> * * *

Belle glanced guiltily at the display cabinet. Even from her seat on the settee she could see the fine layer of dust on the shelves, even though she'd run her cloth over Rumplestiltskin's treasures no more than three days ago. Sometimes she swore that Rumple created dust just to keep her busy! And she really ought to take care of it, but…

She looked down at the book in her hands. The Lady Seraphina had just used her wiles to escape the dragon's lair, and Prince Rupert was rushing to her with his knights at his side. It was truly one of the most exciting portions of the tale thus far, and she _had_ done quite a bit of work already. Perhaps just one more chapter, and then she would buckle down and tackle the Great Room. Decision made, she nodded to herself and delved back into the story. She held her breath when the evil Archduke Edmond appeared on the scene, bending further over the book when he snatched at Seraphina as she fled down a darkened stairwell. Seraphina lashed out with her torch, and—

"Break time already, dearie?"

Belle jerked, the book almost tumbling from her grasp before she caught herself. "Rumple!" she scolded. "You startled me!"

"I leave you alone for one morning without my supervision and return to find you lollygagging on my sofa. What is that you're reading?" Belle jumped when the book disappeared from her hands in a tiny puff of purple smoke, only to reappear in Rumplestiltskin's grasp a second later. "'The Poignant Captive'," he read aloud before snapping the volume closed decisively. He sniffed. "Tawdry trash. I'd have thought better of you, Belle."

Belle frowned. Perhaps her choice of reading material wasn't a literary masterpiece – today – but she wasn't about to defend it to Rumplestiltskin. Not when she already had her own idleness to defend, at least. "I was just—"

"Taking advantage of my trusting nature," Rumple finished for her. "Yes, I see that."

Belle rose with a sigh; held out her hand for the book and placed it on the settee behind her. "You know," she said, "I'm not a slave."

"No," Rumple agreed. He waved a hand with a flourish, then dangled the dusting rag that appeared from his fingers until she reluctantly snatched it from him. "You're a maid. And those trinkets aren't going to clean themselves!"

He was gone in another flash of smoke before she could do more than open her mouth to protest, and she shook her head before she dragged her feet over to the cabinet. She scowled when she got a good look at the items on display – the amount of dust had _surely_ doubled in the time that she'd been talking to Rumplestiltskin. "You know, that's not fair," she said loudly before she drew open the glass doors. She took down a delicate crystal teardrop bigger than her fist and ran the rag over it desultorily. "I wish your trinkets _would_ clean themselves," she muttered under her breath.

There was a reflected flash, like summer lightning over a lake, and Belle jumped back, the cloth dropping from her grasp to lie in a puddle on the floor. She blinked at the row of suddenly meticulously spotless baubles, then whirled around. "Rumple, that's not funny!"

The room was empty.

Belle took in a sharp breath, her gaze drifting to all four corners of the large room before coming back to the pristine cabinet. She took a careful step forward, ran one finger over a shelf. The wood gleamed; the items inside shone brightly. "R.. Rumple?" she said again, then louder, "Rumple!"

He was there in the space of a single breath. "I do have important work that needs my attention," he griped. "Can I not leave you alone for a single—"

"What did you do?"

His gaze followed her pointing finger. His eyes narrowed. "I should ask the same question of you," he murmured without looking away from the cabinet. "What did you do, Belle?"

Belle shook her head. "Nothing!" she said. "It was you. It had to have been you! You and your games!" But when Rumplestiltskin still didn't look away from his perusal of the gleaming trinkets, her certainty faltered. She bit at her bottom lip, took one hesitant step toward him. "It was you, wasn't it?" 

She jumped back when Rumplestiltskin whirled toward her in a flash of leather and brocade. "Tell me everything you did this morning while I was away," he said. "Leave nothing out!"

"I did nothing wrong!" Belle insisted again. "I cleaned the breakfast dishes, swept the upper hallway, did some straightening up in your turret, and then—"

"Aha!" he crowed. Belle frowned when he lifted one long finger to wave under her nose. "And how many times have I reminded you to be cautious when you're amongst my things?" 

Belle rolled her eyes. "You've warned me often enough, Rumple. I was very careful when I moved everything around to dust. Though I think it's time you did a more thorough cleaning than what you'll allow me to do. That room smelled just awful."

"Hmm," Rumple said. She tried to keep him in sight when he circled her, but he was like a bird homing in on prey in a field, and finally she merely crossed her arms beneath her breasts and waited for him to face her again. "Like moss, perhaps?" he said. "And eggs?"

Belle wrinkled her nose, the horrible stench coming back to her at once. She had nearly gagged as she moved her cloth over his table, and had to run from the room before she lost the breakfast she'd eaten among his herbs and intricate tools. "Rotten eggs," she clarified with a shudder. 

He eyed her for a moment. "Then I suggest, dearie, that you be more careful with your words than you were with your slippery fingers in my workroom!"

"What… what does that mean?"

"It means, Belle, that the potion I was concocting – using a very delicate and intricate spell, mind, and including the most rare of ingredients – came into its full power at least six hours earlier than expected. The potion was released into the air before I could stopper it and seal its essence. Most likely because _you_ ," he answered, his voice rising, "jiggled it!"

She couldn't exactly declare her innocence. It was impossible to shift his little beakers and jars without the liquid inside moving at least a little, no matter how watchful she was. And he did insist on a clean workspace! So she merely licked her lips before asking again, "And what does that _mean_ , Rumple?"

Rumplestiltskin sighed. "It means, dearie, that you are now banned from my turret. And it means that for the next twenty-four hours… whatever you wish will come true."

Belle felt her mouth drop open. "That…" She shook her head. "Is that possible?"

"Anything is possible when the sorcerer is strong enough," Rumple declared, "and I am the most powerful wielder of magic in the realms. But be wary, Belle," he continued. She blinked when he again waved his finger in front of her nose. "Wishes have a way of backfiring when you least expect it."

Belle heard his words, she did, and knew that she should heed them, but she simply couldn't stop her smile. Anything she wished! Why, she could organize her library with a word so that she no longer had to search the mismatched stacks for the books she wanted, or… she could transport her most beloved books from Avonlea to her room here in the Dark Castle. Or – her heart sped at the thought – she could wish herself to her father's side! Oh, she would never go back on her deal with Rumplestiltskin, but to have just an hour in the gardens with her Papa! Surely Rumple would agree to that!

Something of her thoughts must have darted across her face, because Rumplestiltskin took a step closer, his head cocked and his strange, mesmerizing eyes meeting hers. "Belle," he said warningly.

She reached out to snag his finger, and as always he stopped, all that jittery movement dampened down merely by her touch. His gaze flicked down to where their fingers met. They were close enough that she could see the skin beneath his neck convulse as he swallowed dryly, and she took the chance and wrapped her hand around his. His scaly flesh met the soft skin of her palm and she wouldn’t have thought that he could become any more still, but somehow he managed it. It didn't matter, because she felt her own heart was beating fast enough for both of them, her own pulse racing swiftly enough for two.

The wish came to her in a flash. And she knew she really shouldn't, but… "I certainly wish you'd tell me the truth of how you feel about me, Rumple."

"Belle," he breathed. 

She held her breath when he lifted his gaze to her face. His eyes flitted across her features, hesitating first at her full lips, then at the curve of her cheek, before finally coming to meet her own blue eyes. His mouth opened, wordless, and he lifted a hand to smooth a lock of hair behind her ear. He took the step that brought them closer, so close, and when his cheek brushed against hers she shivered and would have swayed were it not for his other hand at her elbow. 

"Belle," he murmured, "you… you are a crafty little devil who'd best start minding my warnings lest you find yourself turned into a toad until this spell wears off!"

Belle blinked, stumbling back as he released her. "What?"

Rumplestiltskin danced away from her, cackling merrily. "I'm the Dark One, dearie. Wishing potions don't work on _me_!"

"You!" Belle spluttered, but she couldn't help joining in ruefully with his laughter. She had deserved that. And hopefully the drawn curtains and dim candlelight hid her blush from his gaze.

"Now," Rumplestiltskin said, thankfully ignoring her reddened cheeks and waving his hand so that her cleaning rag materialized between his fingers, "I believe you had some curios to polish?"

Belle peeked over his shoulder to see that the dust had reappeared on his trinkets, thicker than ever. She scowled at him. "That's hardly fair, Rumple."

"You could always wish them clean again, dearie," he said, his eyes twinkling.

Belle sighed and snatched the cloth from his hands, pushing past him to approach the cabinet once more. She had learned her lesson. The word 'wish' would definitely not fall from her lips, at least not for the next twenty four hours. But she still huffed at him when he snickered before he spun on his heel and strode toward the door, and she could not resist glancing over her shoulder at him as he walked away.

She shivered again at the memory of his cheek against hers, his breath warm at her ear.

She shouldn't have tried to trick him. If what she felt – what she thought she was beginning to feel – for Rumple was true, and if it was going to be returned… well, they had all the time in the world to discover it together. She must simply be patient. 

They had forever, after all.


End file.
